Season 2,Episode 2:5
by Prof. Draco
Summary: Pete and Myka get an art lesson in France, and Claudia makes a new friend/stalker
1. Prolouge

**My first story. This is just a teaser to see if anyone likes it. I'll be doing my own episodes set during seasons two and three if this works out. Hope you all like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13 or anything associated with it, though I wish I did. All credit to the original creators.**

**Set between episodes 2.4 and 2.5**

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><p><strong>Musee Rodin, Paris, France.<strong>

Everything was silent. It usually was at half eleven. Even the janitor was packing up for the night. But the curator still had work to do if everything was going to be ready for the new unveiling tomorrow. He'd been working for hours to organise it, nothing was allowed to go wrong this time. Not after the incident with _The Kiss._ Christ, that had been a disaster.

He was suddenly broken from his reminiscing By the sound of the front door closing. A moment of panic before realising it was just the janitor leaving. The curator sighed and got up. He needed sleep, and after triple checking the plans it was clear everything was taken care of. Just as he reached the door handle he stopped, car keys already in hand. Something had definitely slammed in the distance. It was loud and grating, like someone dragging a block of stone. Surely no-one could be trying to steal one of their heavy statues, could they?

Still, he was obliged to check. The sound had seemed to come from the back room, so he made his way towards it. As he moved, he noticed himself sweating. Not because of fear, he carried a taser on him at all times in case of this, but because it suddenly seemed to have gotten much, much warmer. In fact, as he got closer, there was a noticeable flickering going on behind one of the exhibit doors. Fearing the worst, he hesitantly opened the door. The heat was unbearable, and seeing it's source, he screamed out loud.

The next morning, the receptionist got in to find the museum still unlocked. That was odd, the curator was usually in by seven, and it was only 6:20. Walking over to her desk, she called out, but got no reply. Even more odd. The door to his office was open, but he wasn't in. Deciding to look around for him, she noticed one of the exhibits was open. Even before she walked in she knew something was wrong. There was a burnt smell in the air. When she saw him, she could only scream.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Imaginary prizes to anyone who can guess what the artefact is :<strong>**D**


	2. Ping

**Disclaimer; I don't own Warehouse 13 or anything associated with it, though I wish I did. All credit to the original creators.**

**Set between episodes 2.4 and 2.5 **

**Thanks for all of your support. Here's part two, finally getting the Warehouse involved. And please reveiw, I aprreciate any comments :)  
><strong>

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><p>Pete reclined on a couch at the B&amp;B, the latest issue of <em>The Iron Shadow<em> in his hands. "This is the perfect day ," he said. "Comics, cookies and not a single…"

"We've got a Ping!'" yelled Artie, bursting into the room with his trademark franticness.

Pete sighed, "Of course." he said sarcastically. "Next time I should just keep my mouth shut." He managed to pull himself up from he couch and grabbed a few cookies from the table in front of him before making his way toward the conservatory where they held many of their briefings. "Sho vhat ish it?" he mumbled, his mouth full of chocolate chip.

Artie shot him a small glare before seeming to decide it wasn't worth the trouble to growl at him. "So what is it this time, Artie?" said Myka, appearing around the corner with a cup of tea. "You seem pretty flustered about this, well more than usual anyway." This got another small glare from Artie.

"You two," he said in the dramatic voice he did so well, "are going to Paris." Myka's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Ooh, I love it there!" she said excitedly, earning befuddled stares from the two men. "So much history. Did you know that they used to keep parrots at the top of the Eiffel Tower durinf WW2 to warn them about approaching aircraft?"

"Yes," interjected Artie, before she could start talking again. "we have the cage in the Warehouse. But you won't be going there. You job is in the Musee Rodin art gallery."

"The Rodin Museum?" said Myka quizzically, her uncharcteristic enthusiasm dropping slightly. "Rodin as in Augute Rodin?"

"Exactly. We hit there a few years back to get a statue of his, seems we may have missed something. You need to get over there, find it and get it back."

"Rodin was the Thinker guy, right?" said Pete, clearly trying hard to remember. " Didn't he make massive statues and stuff? How would we get one of those back to the Warehouse?"

"Leave that to me," replied Artie. "You just get it and find out what's going on. Now go! You leave in an hour! I need to get back to the Warehouse before Claudia magnetizes herself to the girders again." He quickly bustled out, leaving behind an excited looking Myka, and a Pete that wished they'd got the Artefact the first time.

**At the Warehouse**

Claudia was stuck doing inventory again. It wasn't that she didn't like it, but she had been busy tinkering with a Tesla and she wished she had more time with it. She strolled down the Shakespeare Aisle, where all of the literature based Artefacts were kept.

"One quill owned by a Mrs Jane Austin," she read out. "Check. One badminton racket of a Mr Charles Dickens, check. Ooooh, Mary Shelly's weathervane, awesome!" She stoped and stared at it for a while before moving on. Despite it's dullness, this job had some really interesting surprises. As she moved down the aisle, she heard an odd sound that made her turn. It sounded almost like a tumbler in an old fashioned lock. She quickly dismissed it, Artefacts made strange noises all the time. She turned around and continued her work.

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><p><strong>Ok, part 2 done. Please review and still imaginary prizes to whoever guesses the Artefacts <strong>**:)**


	3. Cloaks and Cases

**Disclaimer; I don't own Warehouse 13 or anything associated with it, though I wish I did. All credit to the original creators.**

**Set between episodes 2.4 and 2.5**

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><p>"ARTIEEE!", called the young tech-wiz, waltzing into the office. "I'm done with the Literature section, can I have a break now pleeeease!" Artie turned from his screen to stare at the bane of his existence for a while. Well, maybe 'bane of his existence' was a bit harsh,. After all, he cared about her like a daughter. That didn't mean she would get off lightly.<p>

"Nope, you have to do a lot more work than that to make up for the baseball incident." he replied.

"Awh, come on, the crater wasn't that big. Surely I've done enough."

"I decide when you've done enough young lady, now get yourself over to the Hitchcock section and don't come back until you've listed everything on those shelves!" He felt a bit guilty when she huffed at him and walked through the door into the colossal warehouse, but she had to learn that if she insisted on messing with artefacts, there would be repercussions. He spared her a small frown and turned back to the computer. The scan he'd started just before his interruption was complete, and the result made him widen his eyes in panic.

"Ooooh dear…" he mumbled into the empty office.

"Grahh! Why is he so pig-headed all the time!" Claudia stormed through the Warehouse towards her next assignment, ranting to herself about how unfair her life was. "Seriously, I didn't cause that much damage. At least not enough to earn a week on inventory. I mean, how am I supposed to learn if he won't even let me..." she stopped suddenly, this aisle was definitely not like the others. It was darker, like something large overhead was casting a massive shadow. But the only thing above her was the Warehouse roof.

"Eerie…" she said, hesitantly walking towards the aisle. She approached a mannequin with a large silky black cloak to take down it's name when a flock of bats burst out. She screamed and ducked with her clipboard over her head. The bats flew in circles for a few seconds before vanishing in a swirl of smoke. "Ooookay…" she said, trying to regain her composure. "Bela Lugosi's cloak, still here." She made a quick jot on her list and continued down the aisle.

**Leena's Bed and Breakfast**

Pete and Myka had just finished packing the few clothes the would take when Artie burst through the door carrying a large suitcase and looking extremely haggard. "Good…I…caught you…" He panted between breaths. He took a moment to regain his stamina and then turned to the two stunned agents.

"Artie, are you ok?" ventured Myka

"Yes, yes. Not important. Here, I think you'll be needing this," he said hurriedly, gesturing towards the case. "If this is what I think it is, then you'll need to be well equipped for it."

"Wow, thanks Artie," said Pete, sarcasm clear in his voice. "But you see, we already have suitcases, and dragging another through customs really…"

"Pete, shut up. _In_ the suitcase is what you'll need. No time to open it now, go go, you'll miss your flight. Call when you get to the museum and I'll walk you through it. Go, GO!" He shoved the larger suitcase into Pete's hands and herded them out the door.

"Wow," said Myka, when they were in the safety of the car. "If whatever this artefact is has Artie so flustered…"

"It'll be fine," Pete cut in. "Trust me. We'll just go in, snag it, bag it and tag it, just like usual." His eyes told Myka a different story however. He was as nervous as she was.

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><p><strong>Still prizes to the guesser of the artefacts. I MAY take suggestions if they're really good, but don't get your hopes up too much, I want things to be as original as possible. Reveiws are always welcome :)**


	4. Does not support the Nazi's in any way

**Disclaimer; I don't own Warehouse 13 or anything associated with it, though I wish I did. All credit to the original creators.**

**Set between episodes 2.4 and 2.5**

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><p>"Oh, thank God," Claudia breathed a sigh of relief. "Just three more Artefacts and I can get out of this creepy hellhole. If this doesn't make up for the baseball, nothing will!" It was a small mercy that most of the horror-themed artefacts were kept in the Dark Vault, she had still been traumatised by cellphones, axes, nooses, televisions, masks and a particularly violent painting. After quick consideration, she'd decided to skip over the two mirrors, she had to retain some sanity, and she didn't trust what they'd do to her.<p>

She'd just passed Robert Johnson's guitar when she stopped suddenly. Where there had been nothing before, there was suddenly a large wooden trunk, not unlike a stereotypical pirate chest, with ornate brass gilding and a solid lock in the centre.

"Creepy…randomly appearing treasure chest, no label," She tried to prise it open. "Locked. Well, let's just note you down anyway so I can finally get the hell out of here." She made a quick jot on the list and turned to head back down the aisle to the office, but second guessed herself and decided to take the long way.

**At a cheap hotel in Paris**

"Geeze, you'd think the government would have a better budget than this," said Pete, staring round at the crumby hotel room that they had been booked in. "There isn't even a TV in here!"

"Oh, get over it, we're only here for a day at most, then we can go home and you can watch all of the '_X-Team_' you want." replied Myka, clearly as dissapointed as her partner, but trying hard to hide it.

"It's '_X-__**Men**__'_, Myks, I thought you'd know that at least. Anyway, I wanna know what's in the carry case. Artie seemed pretty sure we'd need it."

As if on cue, the Farnsworth began to buzz, and when Myka opened it, their bosses disgruntled face stared back at them from the small screen.

"Are you at the hotel yet?" he said gruffly, not wasting a second on pleasantries.

"Yes, Artie," Replied Myka, "We were just about to call…"

"Good, now open the case I gave you." Pete did so, and made a noise of confusion at the contents. There was a pair of dull green suspenders, a large slab of wood engraved with a picture of waves and, what surprised him the most, a medal emblazoned with a Swastika.

"I know, it's not the most sematic thing I could think of," Artie confessed, "but I needed a way to get this stuff through customs without raising questions." Pete made another confused sound. Artie sighed. "That was the Golden Party Badge of the Nazi chief of Gestapo, Heinrich Muller. When you put it on something, or wear it, you become untraceable and undetectable. Useful for transporting large or valuable artefacts via air. Now listen you two, this won't be as easy as the other cases you've had. In fact, it may be one of the most difficult."

"Why? Don't you already know what it is? Should be an easy bag and tag if we don't have to do any recon, right" Pete looked at his partner hopefully.

"Yes, we know what it is. That's why it's going to be difficult. You're after a national treasure here." Myka's eyes became wide.

"Artie, you don't mean the..."

"Mona Lisa? No, no, no, no. We got that in 1911. The one in the Louve is a fake. I'm afraid this is going to be much more dangerous."

Pete's eyes became wide too. "Um, dangerous as in how, exactly?"

"Dangerous as in 'The Eternal Flames of Hell dangerous"

"Oh..."

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><p><strong>Sorry for lateness, shortness and bad qualitiness (maybe, leave a comment if you think so.) I haven't been getting much reveiws lately, so I'm a bit off my game. Help a novice writer, reveiw TODAY!<strong>


	5. Artie's plot

**Finally found my muse. He was hiding under the bed. Here's part 5.**

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><p>"So let me get this straight, you want us to go into a world renowned museum and casually ask them to give us one of their star statues on the grounds that it incinerated the curator?" Myka asked her boss, forcing herself to calm down.<p>

"Pretty much." replied Artie. He had just carefully explained his plan and, after Myka had stopped hysterically pointing out it's numerous flaws, he brought their attention back the suitcase. "Now, it's extremely important that you speak only to the curator's assistant, she knows all about the Warehouse and will probably be more than happy to get rid of it. Everything you need should be in the case, just call once everything is ready and I'll have it picked up." His face on the Farnsworth blipped out without so much as a goodbye.

"What does he mean 'he'll have it picked up'?" asked Pete.

"I dunno, I guess the Warehouse must have some way of transporting the bigger artefacts. Haven't you ever wondered how that cruise liner got in?"

"True." They sat in silence for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating this when Pete spoke up again. "So, care to take a tour of the city? I hear food is awesome"

Myka sighed "You really have a one track mind, don't you?"

**Back at the Warehouse**

"Kay Artie, I'm done. Can I go now. I want to get to the Ice-cream in the fridge before Pete gets back." She walked up to steps to the office and found the older agent huddled over his computer, furiously typing away at something.

"Mmph?" Artie looked up at the intruder and considered for a moment. "Yes, fine." Claudia gave a fist pump. "But you're back in here tomorrow to do the rest of the Madrid Sector. And no-one's been through the Washington Aisle in a few decades."

Claudia's face fell again. She glared at her boss and stormed out of the office.

Leena came in from the file room and gave a knowing smirk at Artie.

"You're letting her off easier than usual. You have something planned, don't you?"

Artie managed a sly grin and produced a heavy iron key from his pocket. "Indeed I do Leena." She looked at the key briefly, as if trying to identify it. Then her face lit up with surprise. She failed at hiding a slight chuckle.

"Oh yes," said Artie "She won't forget this lesson soon. If this doesn't get her to stop playing with the artefacts, nothing will."

**Back at the Musee Rodin**

"Wow, this place is beautiful." Myka was looking in wonderment at the large manor-turned-museum.

"Yeah, great…" said her partner, clearly focusing more on the croissant in his hand than any of the pieces of art that they walked past. They walked up to a desk where a prim, French lady sat, no older than 30. Pete suddenly became very disinterested in his pastry.

"Bonjour, comment puis-je vous aider aujourd'hui?" Pete looked at her blankly, and then looked at Myka when she replied.

"Salut, nous recherchons secretaire de Mr. Cantour, Ms. Levone."

"Ah, you are with zee Warehouse, are you not?" At this stage Pete was simply staring at the two with his mouth hanging open, half chewed croissant still inside.

"Yes, that's us. Artie mentioned you'd help us."

"Oui, I remember him. About four years ago he saved zee Musee from one of zee statues. It was my first day on zee job, too."

"Yes…well we're here for another one I'm afraid." Myka gave her an apologetic frown.

"Oui, oui, I know. I was zee one who found him. Zee gates were still flaming when I called zee police. I have not been in there since."

"Care to show us the way?" Myka gestured for her to take the lead. A few seconds after they had gone, Pete snapped back into focus and ran after them, the suitcase at his side.

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><p><strong>Sorry about the delays in getting this up, life has been conspiring against me lately. I promise the next part wonk take as long. Anyone who wants to correct my French, please do. I want it as accurate as possible.<strong>

***"Hello, how may I help you today?"**

***"Hi, we're looking for Mr. Cantor's secretary, Ms. Levone."  
><strong>


	6. The Horror

**Part 6. Finally, something interesting.**

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><p>"Et is just through zere". The secretary, who had introduced herself as Prima, had led them to a taped off wing of the museum. Inside, myka could see the Gate against one wall, and on the opposite side, a large charred patch of wall. "All zat was left was his badge and some black bones. I called ze police immediately, but I knew zey could not do anything. Ze fire was going out just as I walked in". She started to sob a little, and Myka noticed her shaking.<p>

"Thank you, we can take it from here". Myka put her arm around the secretary's shoulders and led her back toward the entrace. She turned back towards her partner "Pete, you know what you need to do. I'll be with you once Ms. Levone has calmed down."

"Right, the plan." Pete jumped into action, or rather tried to jump into action, forgot about the tape across the door and fell into the room. He got up and looked around quickly to make sure no-one had seen, then scampered toward the Gate, black suitcase in hand.

**At the B&B**

Claudia could sleep. Granted, she didn't sleep most nights anyway, but today she was tired. She'd collapsed into her bed as soon as she burst into her room and tried to relax, but she couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness. She looked over at her bedside table, the clock said it was almost one. She'd been lying there for almost four hours. But everytime she closed her eyes she heard a slight sound, or saw a shadow dart across her wall, and she'd be jolted back to alerntess. 'It must be something from that creepy-ass aisle,' she thought to herself. 'It's got to be an artifact, monsters aren't real.' She heard the sound again, a scurrying, like a pack of rats. She closed her eyes tried to think of happier things. 'Technology, her friends, clowns. Oh god, why did I think of clowns!'. She opened her eyes just a bit, enough to see the looming black figure standing over her. She screamed loudly, and fainted.

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><p><strong>I know it's short, I'm sorry. I haven't really been that into writing lately. Expect it to pick up extremely quickly during the new season. In the meantime, I'm considering doing a Supernatural fic. If you have any ideas or opinions, let me know :)<strong>


	7. The one where the plan starts

**Disclaimer; I don't own Warehouse 13 or anything associated with it, though I wish I did. All credit to the original creators.**

**You guys hate me, don't you? I can tell. Sorry this took such a long time, but I'm lazy. Yep, no excuses.  
><strong>

**Set between episodes 2.4 and 2.5**

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><p><strong><strong>Pete approached the large structure slowly. Not even Artie was sure about what it was capable of, and he didn't want to risk finding out by spooking it with any sudden movement. He realised it was kind of childish to treat a statue like some frightened horse, but almost two years dealing with a typewriter that octopus-inked anything that snuck up on it made his cautious. He managed to position himself in front of the gate, close enough to hit it with the pre-packed can of neutralizer but still with enough distance to run if something caught fire. He set the case on the ground equally carefully and slowly unzipped it, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Pete!"

He jumped a little, and swung to the doorway where Myka was standing, looking both irritated and a little amused. "Artie's pretty certain it's not sound activated, this thing has been in a public place for years."

"Right, I know," Pete relaxed. "I was just, you know, being safe in case it decides to..." he mimed an explosion with his hands, "Go 'whooof" again."

"Just follow the plan." Myka walked off, probably to go and talk to the secretary more.

"Right, plan..." Pete reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, handwritten checklist. "Step one, throw neutralizer at artifact." Pete pulled out the small silver canister and quickly unscrewed the lid. He chucked to purple go inside towards the large sculpture and quickly turned and ducked to avoid the spray of sparks...

**At the B&B**

****Leena had finally finished the daily cleaning and was heading to her room for the night when she heard the scream from upstairs. It was definitely Claudia, only she and Pete screamed like that. She set down her mug of tea and sighed as she walked upstairs. "Artie, I did tell you this won't end well." She reached the top of the stairs in time to see Claudia burst out of her room in her pajamas. Still screaming, she bolted down the stairs and into the kitchen. Leena peered into her room and saw what she was expecting. At the foot of the bed was a fine oak chest.

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><p><strong>I swear to Athena the next chapter won't take so long. You can put down your pitchforks now. Please?<strong>


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